DmC: Devil May Cry Demo Impressions

So DmC: Devil May Cry is out and as the first big release of the year, I decided to try out the demo. I’ve been partially keeping an eye on this game for three reasons. First off, I’m a fan of developer Ninja Theory. I was a fan of Heavenly Sword and was one of the few games I bought for the PlayStation 3 when I first owned it. Although it was essentially a God of War clone, it was a well made clone that did manage to have an interesting protagonist and a tone of its own. Despite Heavenly Sword not doing well, Nariko is still a well loved character and you’ll see cosplay of her all over the net. Although I didn’t play Enslaved, DmC: Devil May Cry is an action title similar to Heavenly Sword so I was intrigued. Which brings me to my second point.

I am not a fan of the Devil May Cry series. I find the combat to be stilted, the control mapping unintuitive, the platforming stiff, the story stupid and the exploration directionless. Above all else however, I find these games to be boring. Therefore, the thought of massive changes being developed in the new game was welcome to me. Finally, I kept tabs on this game because the controversy surrounding it is one of the stupidest I’ve heard of. Apparently, changing Dante’s hair is all it takes to ruin not only a character but a franchise. A franchise mind you that’s never been perfect. The first game seems to be the only entry in the franchise that is universally viewed as good. The second game sucked, the third was good but too hard, and the fourth was boring and didn’t even star Dante. Again, I don’t like any of them but that seems to be the consensus. I have personally never completed a Devil May Cry game but I did play all of them and I currently own Devil May Cry 4.

So that is my mindset going into this demo. I was still surprised by how much fun I ended up having with this demo. It’s as if Ninja Theory knew about my personal issues with the series and fixed them accordingly while still maintaining many of the mainstays of the franchise. For example, Dante, from what I saw, is not emo. The haircut’s too short to be emo and he’s still as brash and arrogant as he’s ever been. You can argue that he’s not the same type of arrogant he was in the previous games but he is definitely not emo. You say he’s emo, you’re wrong. Punk Rock is a better description. I will admit that I miss the pizza though. Also, he still moves like Dante has in the past, to my disappointment: slow running and an overly high jump with little horizontal movement.

The stuff that has changed or been updated is real good, namely the combat. Dante has never been this fluid and easy to control. Admittedly, it feels like other action titles like this such as God of War or Darksiders. However, what DmC has that they don’t are options. Being able to switch from a sword, guns, scythe, or axe is incredibly easy and fun. Being able to pull enemies to you or you to them opens up the juggling to crazy possibilities. Add in the fact that in the real game you’ll get even more weapons to use, all of which can be switched to on the fly, and the amount of options you have in attacking your enemies is numerous. The ranking system is still in place so not only does it give you these options, they make them beneficial to you.

I didn’t get a good feel of the story as the opening cutscene didn’t really tell me much. Dante is helping an organization who’s challenging demons that control the earth in secret. That’s about it. Virgil is the head of the organization, there’s some girl that’s basically a less annoying Navi and that’s all I got. Again, this is the demo so I’m sure there’s much more to it. However, I can’t expect the story to be anything serious as I went up against a caterpillar-looking boss in which I got into a shouting match with, constantly yelling “Fuck You” back and forth. I found this funny in a crude kind of way but by no means will be able to take this plot seriously when there’s bosses that get into childish shouting matches with the equally juvenile protagonist.

The graphics are real good looking. I didn’t find it to be one of the best looking games I’ve seen but the art direction is nice. Nice colors without it looking like a cartoon, naturally lively while still being desolate. Music sounds good although having electronica and dubstep in lieu of a hard rock or metal soundtrack is something I haven’t decided if I like or not. I like electronica music but I don’t know if that’s a proper fit for this game. Before I forget, this is one of the few games that I can say that I really enjoyed the level design. The atmosphere they created with the actively moving levels, the bizarre hidden areas, the fact that most of the areas are still based in reality to remain familiar enough to traverse with some knowledge of where you’re at, impeccable.

I plan to get the PC version when it comes out next week and you’ll probably hear more about this game from me. A review, gameplay footage perhaps but something. So far, I’ve really enjoyed what little I’ve played of this game and it actually makes me want to check out the older Devil May Cry games again. Devil May Cry HD Collection is like 18 bucks on Amazon, right?

Comments (3)

art and style...

the art and style of the game were enough to get me to want to purchase the game. The other games were very dark, this one is very bright and colorful but still maintains a dark tone. I get the same feeling when I play something like Uncharted. Gorgeous visuals man!!! I thought the gameplay was fun.